Non-Motorized Trails Needed

Recently a story ran on our advocacy toward non-motorized trails in the Payson region. That story created some negative feedback and controversy, so I am writing this letter in hopes of clearing that miscommunication.

Our advocacy is for the establishment of non-motorized trails in the Payson area, but this does not mean we are against motorcycles, quads, side-by-sides or 4x4s. While we feel there should be some separation of motorized and non-motorized use on trails, we also feel that motorized vehicle users should have as much right to access our national forest. My advocacy is not to shut down the quads.

My advocacy is in hopes of establishing some high-quality, non-motorized trails in the Payson region, something we currently lack. We can have great non-motorized trails and great motorized trails that co-exist in this town.

Sedona is a good example of this, they are a world-class mountain bike destination.

The Llama Trail in Sedona was recently voted one of the top 33 trails in North America by Bike magazine. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Sedona is equally famous for its Jeep tours, because they have maintained world-class 4x4 trails, too.

Sedona separates and manages both motorized and non-motorized trails, and it seems to work there. Why can’t we do that here? Payson currently has many, many miles of good quad track. We have virtually zero single track, or narrow, non-motorized trails.

Why can’t we have one Llama Trail here in Payson like they have over in Sedona? If we all work together, in conjunction with our local Forest Service, and the Town of Payson itself, we could establish an awesome network of quality trails, that cater to everyone, making Payson an even nicer community to live in.

Not only would better trails improve our lifestyle in Payson, but having quality trails would bring more revenue into this town through tourism.